Statistics

The British nuclear family is in meltdown. Given that new research shows nearly half of all families are one-child affairs, you could even say that we’ve fallen victim to China syndrome. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number has increased by almost 700,000 in 15 years to 3.7 million, and one-child families are likely to be in the majority within a decade.
Are we to become a nation of little emperors and empresses? If so, we’re certainly not making the demographic change alone. In the US, there are now 20 million only-child households, representing 22 per cent (and climbing) of American families. In Canada, 43 per cent of families now have singletons.
In Spain and Portugal – which have traditionally celebrated the large family – a third are now one-child units. India, too, is following the trend: the Delhi-based National Council of Applied Economic Research reported that 10 per cent of households are opting to have only one child, and nearly a quarter of college-educated women say they would prefer to have a singleton.
Ironic, then, that China, where the one-child policy has been law since 1978, is at last softening its stance. Two weeks ago, the government body that ran the country’s population control policy was stripped of its power; a move, Sinologists say, that signals a phasing-out of the much-criticised scheme.

1 comments:

Just a brief comment: I grew up as an only child and an only grandchild on both sides. I am 57 years old now so it was quite unusual. But I always knew I wanted to somehow correct this abnormality. I grew up and had 8 children. Now with half of them married I have 14 grandchildren.